"f5; 


paTOiA 


MISSIONARY  HEROES  COURSE 


LIFE  STORIES  OF  GREAT  MISSIONARIES  FOR 


TEEN  AGE  BOYS 


ARRANGED  IN  PROGRAMS 


JOHN  G.  PATON 

King  of  the  Cannihals 


SOURCE  BOOK 


“The  Story  of  John  G.  Paton” 


A.  K.  LANGRIDGE 


Program  Prepared  by 

FLOYD  L.  CARR 


Course  No.  1 


John  G.  Paton 

King  of  the  Cannibals 


SOURCE  BOOK 

“The  Story  of  John  G.  Paton’ ‘ 

By  A.  K.  Langridge 


Baptist  Board  of  Education 

DEPARTMENT  OF  MISSIONARY  EDUCATION 
276  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York  City 


OUTLINE 


PAGE 


Introductory  Statement .  2 

Program  for  Meeting  .  3 

Life  Sketch .  4 

Life  Incidents  .  6 


Program  based  upon  “The  Story  of  John  G.  Paton — Thirty 
Years  with  South  Sea  Cannibals” 

Revised  by  A.  K.  Langridge 
Doran  $1.50 

FOREWORD 

THE  Missionary  Heroes  Course  for  Boys  meets  a  real  need. 

It  is  a  series  of  missionary  programs  for  boys  based  on  great 
biographies  which  every  boy  should  know.  Course  Number  One, 
now  available,  provides  programs  for  the  ensuing  twelve  months 
and  may  be  used  in  the  monthly  meetings  of  boys’  groups. 
Other  courses  are  in  preparation  and  will  be  issued  for  subse¬ 
quent  years. 

It  is  suggested  that  the  leader  purchase  three  copies  of  each 
leaflet ;  one  to  be  kept  for  reference  and  the  other  two  to  be 
cut  up  to  provide  each  boy  with  his  assigned  part.  In  order  to 
tie  together  the  life  incidents  as  they  are  presented  by  the  boys, 
the  leader  should  master  the  facts  outlined  in  the  biographical 
sketch  and  read  carefully  the  volume  upon  which  the  program 
is  based.  These  volumes  are  missionary  classics  and  may  be 
made  the  basis  of  a  worth-while  library  of  Christian  adventure. 

Boys  are  keenly  interested  in  stories  of  adventure  and 
achievement  and  it  is  hoped  that  participation  in  the  programs 
will  lead  many  of  the  lads  to  read  these  great  missionary  biog¬ 
raphies.  Attention  is  called  to  the  eleven  other  life-story  pro¬ 
grams  in  the  series  now  available  for  Course  Number  One,  and 
to  the  series  now  in  preparation  for  the  ensuing  year,  both  of 
which  are  listed  on  the  last  page.  The  books  upon  which  these 
programs  are  based  can  be  ordered  from  the  nearest  literature 
hadquarters.  Portraits  of  these  missionary  heroes  will  also  be 
made  available  for  purchase. 

While  these  programs  have  been  developed  to  meet  the  needs 
of  boys’  organizations  of  all  types — i.e Organized  Classes,  Boy 
Scouts,  Knights  of  King  Arthur,  Kappa  Sigma  Pi,  etc. — they 
were  especially  prepared  for  the  chapters  of  the  Royal  Ambas¬ 
sadors ,  a  missionary  organization  for  teen  age  boys,  originating 
in  the  southland  and  recently  adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  North¬ 
ern  Baptist  Convention  by  the  Department  of  Missionary  Edu¬ 
cation.  We  commend  these  materials  to  all  lovers  of  boys. 

William  A.  Hill. 


PROGRAM  FOR  THE  MEETING 


1.  Scripture  Lesson:  Psalm  46:1-11,  beginning*:  “God  is  our 
refuge  and  strength,  a  very  present  help  in  trouble.” — 
Some  of  the  most  remarkable  of  the  many  stories  of  de¬ 
liverance  from  death  are  found  in  the  incidents  given  under 
items  seven  and  eight  below.  (See  “The  Story  of  John  G. 
Paton,”  Revised  from  the  “Autobiography,”  by  A.  K.  Lang- 
ridge.) 

2.  Prayer. 

3.  Hymn:  “How  Firm  a  Foundation”  (the  second  stanza 
beginning:  “Fear  not,  I  am  with  thee,”  is  especially  ap¬ 
propriate). 

4.  Introduction  to  the  Life  Story  #  (based  on  pages  1-26  of 
the  above  book). 

5.  Enlists  as  a  Missionary  (pages  27-28). 

6.  Acquiring  the  Language  (pages  33-34,  136-137,  221-222). 

7.  Life  Imperiled  Again  and  Again  (pages  55-56,  60,  76-77, 
95-96). 

8.  Delivered  by  a  Tornado  (pages  109-111). 

9.  The  Site  for  the  New  Home  on  Aniwa  (pages  134-135,  140). 

10.  The  Sinking  of  the  First  Well  on  Aniwa  (pages  157-159, 
160,  161,  164). 

11.  Chief  Namakei  Avows  His  Faith  in  Jehovah  God  (pages 
164-165). 

12.  Aniwa  Adopts  Christian  Practices  (pages  166-168). 

13.  The  First  Baptismal  and  Communion  Services  (pages  179- 
180). 

14.  The  Converts  Share  the  “Glad  Tidings”  (pages  190-191). 

15.  Progress  on  Aniwa  Reviewed  (pages  242-243). 

16.  “Sunset  and  Evening  Star”  (pages  252-253). 

*  The  leader  should  read  both  the  brief  sketch  in  this  leaflet  and  A.  K.  Langridge’s 

“The  Story  of  John  G.  Paton”  in  order,  as  the  program  progresses,  to  fill  in  the  gaps 

between  the  assignments. 


3 


SKETCH  OF  LIFE  OF  JOHN  G.  PATON, 
“KING  OF  THE  CANNIBALS” 


ON  May  24,  1824,  in  Kirkmahoe,  Dumfries,  Scotland,  John 
Gibson  Paton  was  born,  the  eldest  of  twelve  children.  Be¬ 
fore  he  was  twelve  years  of  age  he  worked  at  his  father’s  trade 
of  making  stockings  from  six  in  the  morning  till  ten  at  night. 
He  spent  his  spare  moments,  however,  in  the  study  of  Latin  and 
Greek  and  finally  went  away  to  school.  He  taught  school,  worked 
on  farms,  and  later  worked  in  the  Glasgow  City  Missions,  while 
further  pursuing  his  studies. 

While  studying  in  Glasgow  he  heard  of  the  needs  in  the 
islands  of  New  Hebrides  and  enlisted  for  the  work.  On  April 
16,  1858,  in  his  thirty-fourth  year,  with  his  young  wife,  Mary 
Ann  Paton,  he  sailed  for  the  New  Hebrides.  On  November  5th 
of  the  same  year  they  landed  at  Port  Resolution,  on  Tanna 
Island,  to  begin  their  difficult  task.  Nakedness,  superstition, 
cruelty,  cannibalism  and  misery  characterized  the  hostile  natives. 
Within  four  months  his  wife  and  babe  had  died  of  malarial 
fever. 

Alone,  save  for  the  company  of  his  Aneityum  helpers,  Abra¬ 
ham  and  his  wife,  he  struggled  to  acquire  the  language,  and 
to  retain  his  equipment  from  pilfering  hands,  facing  death 
again  and  again.  Finally,  early  in  1862,  tribal  wars  which 
broke  out  on  Tanna  culminated  in  a  concerted  effort  to  take  his 
life  and  compelled  his  withdrawal  from  the  island. 

The  next  year  found  him  back  in  Scotland  seeking  new 
recruits  to  reinforce  the  workers  in  the  New  Hebrides.  In  addi¬ 
tion  to  enlisting  four  new  missionaries  he  won  the  consent  of 
Margaret  Whitecross  to  become  his  wife  and  accompany  him  to 
the  South  Seas.  In  November,  1866,  he  began  work  on  Aniwa,  a 
small  island  fifteen  miles  distant  from  Tanna.  Here  again  he 
was  faced  with  heathenism  in  its  sombre  hues  and  was  challenged 
by  the  task  of  building  a  home,  mastering  a  new  language  and 
winning  the  gvood  will  of  the  hostile  natives. 

Probably  the  greatest  help  in  breaking  the  back  of  heathen¬ 
ism  on  Aniwa  was  the  successful  sinking  of  a  well.  The  natives 
were  incredible  when  it  was  proposed  and  declared  that  “rain 

4 


could  not  come  up  from  below.”  At  a  depth  of  thirty -two  feet 
an  ample  supply  of  fresh  water  was  found  and  both  the  mission¬ 
ary  and  Jehovah-worship  were  vindicated.  Chief  Namakei,  tak¬ 
ing  the  well  as  a  text,  preached  an  eloquent  sermon  in  which  he 
declared  his  faith  in  Jehovah  God.  The  tide  now  turns,  idols 
are  destroyed  and  Aniwa  adopts  the  asking  of  God’s  blessing  at 
every  meal,  morning  and  evening  prayers,  and  the  observance 
of  the  Lord’s  Day.  The  entire  population,  old  and.  young,  at¬ 
tends  school  each  morning  and  the  chiefs  evolve  a  new  social 
order  founded  upon  the  Bible.  On  October  24,  1869,  Paton  had 
the  joy  of  administering  baptism  and  communion  to  the  first 
group  of  converts.  Those  who  accepted  the  Gospel  Message 
soon  showed  the  usual  evidence  of  sincerity  in  their  desire  to 
tell  others  the  glad  tidings  and  many  volunteered  for  service  in 
distant  islands  where  their  life  was  in  constant  danger. 

Pour  years  later  the  wreck  of  the  Dayspring ,  the  sailing 
vessel  that  served  the  mission  stations  on  the  several  islands, 
turned  Paton ’s  steps  toward  the  colonial  churches  in  Australia, 
New  Zealand,  Victoria  and  New  South  Wales  and  then  to  the 
home  churches  in  Scotland.  His  messages  profoundly  stirred 
the  churches  and  the  response  in  funds  for  both  the  purchase 
of  a  new  boat  and  its  maintenance  was  very  gratifying.  The 
publishing  of  Paton ’s  “Autobiography,”  in  the  meantime  had 
made  him  a  world-hero  and  his  messages  were  received  with  eager 
interest  throughout  Great  Britain,  Canada  and  the  United 
States. 

Two  of  his  sons  rejoiced  his  heart  by  enlisting  for  service  in 
the  New  Hebrides,  Frederick  J.  Paton  beginning  work  in 
Malekulu  in  1894  and  Frank  H.  L.  Paton  in  Tanna  in  1896.  In 
January,  1899,  John  G.  Paton  brought  to  the  eager  Christians  in 
Aniwa  the  printed  copies  of  the  entire  New  Testament  in  Aniwa. 
When  he  made  his  last  visit  to  Aniwa  in  1904  he  found  it  wholly 
won  to  Christ  and  reported  in  a  letter  that  “we  now  occupy 
twenty-five  of  the  thirty  islands  and  have  17,000  natives 
avowedly  serving  Jesus  as  their  God  and  Saviour.” 

On  May  16,  1905,  Margaret  Whitecross  Paton,  the  companion 
of  his  later  years,  passed  away.  He  pressed  on,  though  past  his 
eighty-first  year,  visiting  the  colonial  churches  in  Australia  and 
pleading  for  the  advancement  of  the  Kingdom  in  the  New 
Hebrides.  On  January  28,  1907,  this  dauntless  hero  of  the  cross 
passed  to  his  reward.  His  life  story  is  one  of  the  precious 
treasures  in  the  archives  of  the  Christian  Church. 


5 


INCIDENTS  IN  THE  LIFE  OF 
JOHN  G.  PATON 


Reprinted  from  “The  Story  of  John  G.  Raton,” 
by  A.  K.  Langridga 

By  Permission  of  the  publishers,  George  II.  Doran  Co. 

Enlists  as  a  Missionary .  (P.  27-28.) 

“The  Reformed  Presbyterian  Church,  in  which  I  had  been 
brought  up,  had  been  advertising  for  a  Missionary  for  the  New 
Hebrides.  None  offered,  and  a  cloud  of  sadness  appeared  to 
fall  over  the  church  synod. 

“Again  and  again  it  flashed  through  my  mind,  ‘Since  none 
better  qualified  can  be  got,  offer  yourself’;  but  I  deliberated 
and  prayed  for  a  time.  I  was  keenly  solicitous  about  the  effect 
upon  the  hundreds  of  young  people  and  others  attached  to  my 
classes  and  meetings;  and  yet  I  felt  a  growing  assurance  that 
this  was  the  call  of  God,  and  that  He  was  willing  to  employ  me 
in  the  work  abroad,  was  both  able  and  willing  to  provide  for  the 
on-carrying  of  my  work  at  home.  My  medical  studies,  as  well 
as  my  literary  and  divinity  training,  had  specially  qualified  me 
in  some  ways  for  the  Foreign  field,  and  from  every  aspect  at 
which  I  could  look  the  whole  facts  in  the  face,  the  voice  within 
me  sounded  like  a  voice  from  God. 

“At  length  I  called  on  Dr.  Bates  and  offered  myself  for  the 
New  Hebrides  Mission ;  I  returned  to  my  lodging  with  a  lighter 
heart  than  I  had  for  some  time  enjoyed,  feeling  that  nothing 
so  clears  the  vision,  and  lifts  up  the  life,  as  a  decision  to  move 
forward  in  what  you  know  to  be  entirely  the  will  of  the  Lord. 
I  said  to  my  fellow  student,  Joseph 'Copeland,  who  had  chummed 
with  me  all  through  our  course  at  college,  ‘I  have  been  away 
signing  my  banishment ;  I  have  offered  myself  as  a  Missionary 
for  the  New  Hebrides.’ 

“After  a  long  and  silent  meditation,  in  which  he  seemed  lost 
in  thought,  his  answer  was,  ‘If  they  will  accept  me,  I  am  also 
resolved  to  go!’ 

“A  few  minutes  later  his  letter  of  offer  was  in  the  post. 

“Next  morning  Dr.  Bates  called  upon  us  early,  and  after  a 
long  conversation,  commended  us  and  our  future  work  to  the 
Lord  God  in  fervent  prayer.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Foreign 
Missions  Committee,  held  immediately  thereafter,  both  of  us 
were  formally  accepted,  on  condition  that  we  passed  success- 


6 


fully  the  usual  examinations  required  of  candidates  for  the 
Ministry.  And  for  the  next  twelve  months  we  were  placed 
under  a  special  committee  for  advice  as  to  medical  experience, 
acquaintance  with  the  rudiments  of  trades,  and  anything  else 
which  might  be  thought  useful  to  us  in  the  Foreign  field.” 

♦ 

Acquiring  the  Language.  ( P .  33-34,  136-137,  221- 

222.) 

“At  first  they  came  in  crowds  to  look  at  us,  and  at  every¬ 
thing  we  did  or  had.  We  knew  nothing  of  their  language;  we 
could  not  speak  a  single  word  to  them,  nor  they  to  us.  One  day 
I  observed  two  men,  the  one  lifting  up  one  of  our  articles  to  the 
other,  and  saying,  ‘Nungsi  nari  enu?’ 

“I  concluded  that  he  was  asking,  ‘What  is  this?’  Instantly 
lifting  up  a  piece  of  wood,  I  said,  ‘Nungsi  nari  enu?’ 

“They  smiled  and  spoke  to  each  other.  Then  they  told  me 

their  name  for  the  thing  which  I  had  pointed  to.  I  found  that 
they  understood  my  question,  ‘What  is  this?’  or  ‘What  is  that?’ 
and  that  I  could  now  get  from  them  the  name  of  things  around 
us!  We  carefully  noted  down  every  name  they  gave  us,  spell¬ 
ing  all  phonetically,  and  also  every  strange  sound  we  heard 
from  them;  thereafter,  by  painstaking  comparison  of  different 
circumstances,  we  tried  to  ascertain  their  meanings,  testing  our 
own  guess  by  again  cross-questioning  the  natives.  One  day  I 
saw  two  men  approaching,  when  one,  who  was  a  stranger, 
pointed  to  me  with  his  finger,  and  said,  ‘  Se  nangin  ?  ’ 

“Concluding  that  he  was  asking  my  name,  I  pointed  to  one  of 
them  with  my  finger,  and  looking  at  the  other,  inquired,  ‘Se 
nangin  ?  ’ 

“They  smiled,  and  gave  me  their  names.  We  were  now  able 
to  get  the  names  of  persons  and  things,  and  so  our  ears  got 
familiarized  with  the  distinctive  sounds  of  their  language ;  and 
being  always  keenly  on  the  alert,  we  made  extraordinary  prog¬ 
ress  in  attempting  bits  of  conversation  and  in  reducing  their 
speech  for  the  first  time  to  a  written  form — for  the  New 
Hebrideans  had  no  literature,  and  not  even  the  rudiments  of 
an  alphabet.  I  began  to  hire  some  of  the  more  intelligent  lads 
and  men  to  sit  and  talk  with  us,  and  answer  our  questions  about 
names  and  sounds ;  but  they  so  often  deceived  us,  and  we,  doubt¬ 
less  misunderstood  them  so  often,  that  this  course  was  not  satis¬ 
factory,  till  after  we  had  gained  some  knowledge  of  their  lan¬ 
guage,  and  its  construction,  and  they  themselves  had  become 
interested  in  helping  us. 


7 


“Our  learning  the  language  on  Aniwa  was  marked  by  similar 
incidents  to  those  of  Tanna,  related  in  a  preceding  chapter ; 
though  a  few  natives  could  understand  my  Tannese,  and  that 
greatly  helped  me.  One  day  a  man,  after  carefully  examining 
some  article,  turned  to  his  neighbor  and  said,  ‘Taha  tinei?’ 

“I  inferred  that  he  was  asking,  ‘What  is  this?’  Pointing  to 
another  article,  I  repeated  their  words ;  they  smiled  at  each 
other,  and  gave  me  its  name. 

“On  another  occasion  a  man  said  to  his  companion,  looking 
toward  me,  ‘Taha  neigo?’  Concluding  that  he  was  asking  my 
name,  I  pointed  towards  him,  and  repeated  the  words,  and  they 
at  once  gave  me  their  names. 

“It  is  surprising  how  much  one  can  learn  of  any  language, 
with  these  two  short  questions  constantly  on  one’s  lips,  and  with 
people  ready  at  every  turn  to  answer — ‘What’s  this?’  ‘What’s 
your  name?’  Every  word  was  at  once  written  down,  spelled 
phonetically  and  arranged  in  alphabetical  order,  and  a  note 
appended  as  to  the  circumstances  in  which  it  was  used.  By 
frequent  comparison  of  these  notes,  and  by  careful  daily  imita¬ 
tion  of  all  their  sounds,  we  were  able  in  a  measure  to  under¬ 
stand  each  other  before  we  had  gone  far  in  the  house-building 
operations,  during  which  some  of  them  were  constantly  be¬ 
side  me. 

“One  incident  of  that  time  was  very  memorable,  and  God 
turned  it  to  good  account  for  higher  ends.  I  often  tell  it  as 
‘The  miracle  of  the  speaking  bit  of  wood’;  and  it  has  happened 
to  other  Missionaries  exactly  as  to  myself.  While  working  at 
the  house,  I  required  some  nails  and  tools.  Lifting  a  piece  of 
planed  wood,  I  pencilled  a  few  words  on  it,  and  requested  our 
old  chief  to  carry  it  to  Mrs.  Paton,  and  she  would  send  what  I 
wanted.  In  blank  wonder,  he  innocently  stared  at  me  and  said, 
‘But  what  do  you  want?’ 

“I  replied,  ‘The  wood  will  tell  her.’  He  looked  rather  angry, 
thinking  that  I  befooled  him,  and  retorted,  ‘Who  ever  heard  of 
wood  speaking?’ 

“By  hard  pleading  I  succeeded  in  persuading  him  to  go  on. 
He  was  amazed  to  see  her  looking  at  the  wood  and  then  fetch¬ 
ing  the  needed  articles.  He  brought  back  the  bit  of  wood,  and 
eagerly  made  signs  for  an  explanation.  Chiefly  in  broken  Tan¬ 
nese  I  read  to  him  the  words,  and  informed  him  that  in  the  same 
way  God  spoke  to  us  through  His  Book.  The  will  of  God  was 
written  there,  and  by  and  by  when  he  learned  to  read,  he  would 
hear  God  speaking  to  him  from  its  page,  as  Mrs.  Paton  heard 
me  from  the  bit  of  wood.” 


8 


“For  a  long  time,”  he  said,  “no  equivalent  could  be  found, 
and  my  work  of  Bible  translation  was  paralyzed  for  the  want 
of  so  fundamental  and  oft-recurring  a  term.  The  natives  ap¬ 
parently  regarded  the  verb  ‘to  hear’  as  equivalent  to  ‘to  believe.’ 
I  would  ask  a  native  whether  he  believed  a  certain  statement, 
and  his  reply  would  be,  should  he  credit  my  statement,  ‘Yes,  I 
heard  it,’  but  should  he  disbelieve  it  he  would  answer,  ‘No,  I 
did  not  hear  it,’  meaning,  not  that  his  ears  had  failed  to  catch 
the  words,  but  that  he  did  not  regard  them  as  true.  This 
definition  of  faith  was  obviously  insufficient.  I  prayed  con¬ 
tinually  that  God  would  supply  the  missing  link,  and  spared  no 
effort  in  interrogating  the  most  intelligent  native  pundits,  but 
all  in  vain,  none  caught  the  hidden  meaning  of  the  word. 

“One  day  I  was  in  the  Mission  House  anxiously  pondering. 
I  sat  on  an  ordinary  kitchen  chair,  my  feet  resting  on  the  floor. 
Just  then  an  intelligent  native  woman  entered  the  room,  and 
the  thought  flashed  through  my  mind  to  ask  the  all-absorbing 
question  yet  once  again,  if  possible,  in  a  new  light. 

“Was  I  not  resting  on  the  chair?  Would  that  attitude  lend 
itself  to  the  discovery? 

‘  ‘  I  said,  ‘  What  am  I  doing  now  ?  ’ 

“  ‘Koikae  ana,  Missi, ’  ‘You’re  sitting  down,  Missi, ’  the  native 
replied. 

“Then  I  drew  up  my  feet  and  placed  them  upon  the  bar  of 
the  chair  just  above  the  floor,  and  leaning  back  in  an  attitude  of 
repose,  asked,  ‘What  am  I  doing  now?’ 

“  ‘Fakarongrongo,  Missi,’  ‘You  are  leaning  wholly,  Missi,’ 
or  ‘You  have  lifted  yourself  from  every  other  support.’ 

“  ‘That’s  it!’  I  shouted,  with  an  exultant  cry;  and  a  sense 
of  holy  joy  awed  me,  as  I  realized  that  my  prayer  had  been  so 
fully  answered. 

“To  ‘lean  on’  Jesus  wholly  and  only  is  surely  the  true  mean¬ 
ing  of  appropriating  or  saving  faith.” 

Life  Imperiled  Again  and  A  gam.  ( P .  55-56,  GO,  76- 
77,95-96.) 

“One  morning  at  daybreak  I  found  my  house  surrounded 
by  armed  men,  and  a  chief  intimated  that  they  had  assembled 
to  take  my  life.  Seeing  that  I  was  entirely  in  their  hands,  I 
knelt  down  and  gave  myself  away  body  and  soul  to  the  Lord 
Jesus,  for  what  seemed  the  last  time  on  earth.  Rising,  I  went 
out  to  them,  and  began  calmly  talking  about  their  unkind  treat- 


9 


ment  of  me  and  contrasting  it  with  all  my  conduct  towards 
them.  I  also  plainly  showed  them  what  would  be  the  sad  con¬ 
sequences  if  they  carried  out  their  cruel  purpose.  At  last  some 
of  the  chiefs,  who  had  attended  the  worship,  rose  and  said,  ‘Our 
conduct  has  been  bad;  but  now  we  will  fight  for  you,  and  kill 
all  those  who  hate  you.’ 

‘  ‘  Grasping  hold  of  their  leader,  I  held  him  fast  till  he  promised 
never  to  kill  any  one  on  my  account.  During  this  scene,  many 
of  the  armed  men  slunk  away  into  the  bush  and  those  who  re¬ 
mained  entered  into  a  bond  to  be  friendly  and  to  protect  us. 
But  again  their  assembly  resolved  that  we  should  be  killed.  They 
declared  their  hate  for  the  worship,  because  it  made  them  afraid 
to  continue  their  present  courses,  and  argued  that  if  I  would 
give  up  visiting  the  villages  and  praying  and  talking  with  them, 
they  would  let  me  stay  and  trade  with  them,  as  they  liked  the 
trades  but  hated  Missionaries!  I  told  them  that  the  hope  of 
being  able  to  teach  them  the  worship  of  Jehovah  alone  kept  me 
living  amongst  them ;  that  I  was  there,  not  for  gain  or  pleasure, 
but  to  lead  them  to  know  and  serve  the  only  true  God. 

“But  the  heathen  seldom  slackened  their  hateful  designs 
against  my  life,  however  calmed  or  baffled  for  the  moment. 
Within  a  few  days  of  the  above  events,  when  natives  in  large 
numbers  were  assembled  at  my  house,  a  man  furiously  rushed 
at  me  with  his  axe ;  but  a  chief  snatched  a  spade  with  which  I 
had  been  working,  and  dexterously  defended  me  from  instant 
death.  Life  in  such  circumstances  led  me  to  cling  very  near 
to  the  Lord  Jesus;  I  knew  not,  for  one  brief  hour,  when  or  how 
attacks  might  be  made ;  and  yet,  with  my  trembling  hand  clasped 
in  the  Hand  once  nailed  on  Calvary,  calmness  and  resignation 
abode  in  my  soul. 

“Next  day  a  wild  chief  followed  me  about  for  four  hours  with 
his  loaded  musket,  often  directed  towards  me,  but  God  re¬ 
strained  his  hand.  I  spoke  kindly  to  him,  and  attended  to  my 
work  as  if  he  had  not  been  there,  fully  persuaded  that  God  had 
placed  me  there,  and  would  protect  me  till  my  allotted  task  was 
finished.  I  left  all  to  His  hands,  and  felt  immortal  till  my  work 
was  done.  Trials  and  hairbreadth  escapes  strengthened  my  faith, 
and  seemed  only  to  serve  me  for  more  to  follow ;  and  truly  they 
did  tread  swiftly  upon  each  other’s  heels.  The  abiding  con¬ 
sciousness  of  the  presence  and  power  of  my  Saviour  preserved 
me  from  losing  my  reason.  His  words,  ‘Lo,  I  am  with  you 
always,  even  until  the  end  of  the  world,’  became  to  me  so  real 
that  it  would  not  have  startled  me  to  behold  Him,  as  Stephen 
did,  gazing  down  upon  the  scene.  It  is  the  sober  truth,  and  it 
comes  back  to  me  sweetly  after  all  the  years,  that  I  had  my 


10 


nearest  and  dearest  glimpse  of  the  Face  and  smile  of  my  blessed 
Lord  in  those  dread  moments  when  musket,  club,  or  spear  was 
being  levelled  at  my  life. 

‘ ‘  One  day  while  toiling  away  at  my  house,  the  war  chief  and 
his  brother  and  a  large  party  of  armed  men  surrounded  the 
plot  where  I  was  working.  They  all  had  muskets  besides  their 
own  native  weapons.  They  watched  me  for  some  time  in  silence, 
and  then  every  man  levelled  a  musket  straight  at  my  head. 
Escape  was  impossible.  Speech  would  have  only  increased  my 
danger.  My  eyesight  came  and  went  for  a  few  moments.  I 
prayed  to  my  Lord  Jesus,  either  Himself  to  protect  me  or  to 
take  me  home  to  His  Glory.  I  tried  to  keep  working  on  at  my 
task,  as  if  no  one  was  near  me.  In  that  moment,  as  never  before, 
the  words  came  to  me — ‘  Whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  in  My  name, 
I  will  do  it  ’ ;  and  I  knew  that  I  was  safe.  Retiring  a  little  from 
their  first  position,  no  word  having  been  spoken,  they  took  up 
the  same  attitude  somewhat  farther  off,  and  seemed  to  be  urging 
one  another  to  fire  the  first  shot.  But,  restrained  once  again, 
they  withdrew,  leaving  me  with  a  new  reason  for  trusting  God 
with  all  that  concerned  me  for  Time  and  Eternity.  New  Year’s 
Day,  1861,  will  ever  be  remembered. 

“Mr.  and  Mrs.  Johnston,  Abraham  and  I,  had  spent  nearly 
the  whole  time  in  a  kind  of  solemn  yet  happy  festival.  Anew 
in  a  holy  covenant  before  God  we  unitedly  consecrated  our  lives 
and  our  all  to  the  Lord  Jesus,  giving  ourselves  away  to  Llis 
blessed  service  for  the  conversion  of  the  heathen  in  the  New 
Hebrides.  After  evening  family  worship,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Johnston 
left  my  room  to  go  to  their  own  house,  only  some  ten  feet 
distant ;  but  he  returned  to  inform  me  that  there  were  two  men 
at  the  window,  armed  with  huge  clubs,  and  having  black  painted 
faces.  Going  out  to  them  and  asking  them  what  they  wanted, 
they  replied,  ‘Medicine  for  a  sick  boy.’  With  difficulty  I 
persuaded  them  to  come  in  and  get  it.  At  once,  it  flashed  upon 
me  that  they  had  come  to  murder  us.  Mr.  Johnston  had  also 
accompanied  us  into  the  house.  Keeping  my  eye  constantly 
fixed  on  them,  I  prepared  the  medicine  and  offered  it.  They 
refused  to  receive  it,  and  each  man  grasped  his  killing-stone. 
I  faced  them  firmly  and  said,  ‘You  see  that  Mr.  Johnston  is 
now  leaving  and  you  two  must  leave  for  to-night.  To-morrow, 
you  can  bring  the  boy  or  come  for  the  medicine.’ 

“Seizing  their  clubs,  as  if  for  action,  they  showed  unwilling¬ 
ness  to  withdraw,  but  I  walked  deliberately  forward  and  made 
as  if  to  push  them  out  when  both  turned  and  began  to  leave. 

“Mr.  Johnston  had  gone  in  front  of  them  and  was  safely  out, 


11 


but  he  bent  down  to  lift  a  little  kitten  that  had  escaped  at  the 
open  door ;  and  at  that  moment  one  of  the  savages,  jerking  in 
behind,  aimed  a  blow  with  his  huge  club,  in  avoiding  which 
Mr.  Johnston  fell  with  a  groan  to  the  ground.  Both  men  sprang 
towards  him,  but  our  two  faithful  dogs  ferociously  leaped  in 
their  faces  and  saved  his  life.  Rushing  out,  but  not  fully  aware 
of  what  had  occurred,  I  saw  Mr.  Johnston  trying  to  raise  him¬ 
self,  and  heard  him  cry,  ‘  Take  care !  These  men  have  tried  to 
kill  me  and  they  will  kill  you !  ’ 

“ Pacing  them  sternly  I  demanded,  ‘  What  is  it  that  you  want? 
He  does  not  understand  your  language.  What  do  you  want? 
Speak  with  me.  ’  Both  men  thereon  raised  their  great  clubs  and 
made  to  strike  me ;  but  quick  as  lightning  the  two  dogs  sprang 
at  their  faces  and  baffled  their  blows.  One  dog  was  badly 
bruised,  and  the  ground  received  the  other  blow,  that  would  have 
launched  me  into  Eternity.  The  best  dog  was  a  little  cross-bred 
retriever,  with  terrier’s  blood  in  him,  splendid  for  warning  us  of 
approaching  dangers,  and  which  had  already  been  the  means 
of  saving  my  life  several  times.  Seeing  how  matters  stood,  I 
now  hounded  both  dogs  furiously  upon  them,  and  the  two 
savages  fled. 

“In  their  flight,  a  large  body  of  men  who  had  come  eight  or 
ten  miles  to  assist  in  the  murder  and  plunder  came  slipping  here 
and  there  from  the  bush  and  joined  them,  fleeing  too.  .  .  . 

“We  durst  not  choose  the  usual  path  along  the  beach,  for 
there  our  enemies  would  have  quickly  overtaken  us.  We  entered 
the  bush  in  the  hope  of  getting  away  unobserved.  But  a  cousin 
of  Miaki,  evidently  secreted  to  watch  us,  sprang  from  behind  a 
bread  fruit  tree,  and  swinging  his  tomahawk,  aimed  at  my  brow 
with  a  fiendish  look.  Avoiding  it,  I  turned  upon  him  and  said 
in  a  firm,  bold  voice,  ‘If  you  dare  to  strike  me,  my  Jehovah 
God  will  punish  you.  He  is  here  to  defend  me  now !  ’ 

“The  man,  trembling,  looked  all  around  to  see  the  God  who 
was  my  defender,  and  the  tomahawk  gradually  lowered  at  his 
side.  With  my  eye  fixed  upon  him  I  gradually  moved  back¬ 
wards  in  the  track  of  the  teachers  and  God  mercifully  restrained 
him  from  following  me.”  .  .  . 

Delivered  by  a  Tornado.  ( P .  109-111.) 

“During  the  day,  on  3rd  February,  a  company  of  Miaki ’s 
men  came  to  the  Mission  House,  and  forced  Mrs.  Mathieson  to 
show  them  through  the  premises.  Providentially,  that  morning 


12 


I  was  writing  in  an  inner  room.  They  went  through  every  other 
room  in  the  house  and  did  not  see  me.  Concluding  I  had  gone 
inland,  they  discharged  a  musket  into  our  teacher’s  house,  but 
afterwards  left  quietly,  greatly  disappointed  at  not  finding  me. 
My  heart  still  rose  in  praise  to  God  for  another  such  deliverance, 
neither  by  man  nor  of  man’s  planning! 

“Worn  out  with  long  watching  and  many  fatigues,  I  lay  down 
that  night  early,  and  feel  into  a  deep  sleep.  About  ten  o’clock 
the  savages  again  surrounded  the  Mission  House.  My  faithful 
dog,  Clutha,  clinging  still  to  me  amid  the  wreck  of  all  else  on 
earth,  sprang  quietly  upon  me,  pulled  at  my  clothes,  and  awoke 
me,  showing  danger  in  her  eye  glancing  at  me  through  the 
shadows.  I  silently  awoke  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mathieson,  who  had 
fallen  asleep.  We  committed  ourselves  in  hushed  prayer  to 
God  and  watched.  Immediately  a  glare  of  light  fell  into  the 
room !  Savages  passed  with  flaming  torches.  First  they  set  fire 
to  the  church  all  round,  and  then  to  a  reed  fence  connecting  the 
church  and  the  dwelling  house.  In  a  few  minutes  the  house, 
too,  would  be  in  flames,  and  armed  savages  waiting  to  kill  us  on 
attempting  an  escape ! 

“Taking  my  harmless  revolver  in  the  left  hand  and  a  little 
American  tomahawk  in  the  right,  I  pled  with  Mr.  Mathieson  to  let 
me  out,  and  instantly  again  to  lock  the  door  on  himself  and 
wife.  He  very  reluctantly  did  so,  holding  me  back  and  saying, 
‘Stop  here  and  let  us  die  together!  You  will  never  return!’ 

‘  ‘  I  said,  ‘  Be  quick !  Leave  that  to  God !  In  a  few  minutes 
our  house  will  be  in  flames,  and  then  nothing  can  save  us.’ 

‘  ‘  He  did  let  me  out,  and  locked  the  door  again  quickly  from 
the  inside ;  and,  while  his  wife  and  he  prayed  and  watched  from 
within,  I  ran  to  the  burning  reed  fence,  cut  it  from  top  to 
bottom,  and  tore  it  up  and  threw  it  back  into  the  flames,  so 
that  the  fire  could  not  by  it  be  carried  to  our  dwelling-house. 
I  saw  on  the  ground  shadows,  as  if  something  were  falling  around 
me,  and  started  back.  Seven  or  eight  savages  had  surrounded 
me,  and  raised  their  great  clubs  in  air.  I  heard  a  shout — ‘Kill 
him !  kill  him !  ’  One  savage  tried  to  seize  hold  of  me,  but, 
leaping  from  his  clutch,  I  drew  the  revolver  from  my  pocket 
and  levelled  it  as  if  for  use,  my  heart  going  up  in  prayer  to 
my  God.  I  said,  ‘Dare  to  strike  me,  and  my  Jehovah  God  will 
punish  you.  He  protects  us,  and  will  punish  you  for  burning 
His  church,  for  hatred  to  His  worship  and  people,  and  for  all 
your  bad  conduct.  We  love  you  all;  and  for  doing  you  only 
good  you  want  to  kill  us.  But  our  God  is  here  now  to  pro¬ 
tect  us.’ 


13 


“They  yelled  in  rage,  and  urged  each  other  to  strike  the  first 
blow,  but  the  Invisible  One  restrained  them. 

“At  this  dread  moment  occurred  an  incident  which  I  trace 
directly  to  the  interposition  of  God.  A  rushing  and  roaring 
sound  came  from  the  south,  like  the  noise  of  a  mighty  engine 
or  of  muttering  thunder.  Every  head  was  instinctively  turned 
in  that  direction,  and  they  knew,  from  previous  hard  experience, 
that  it  was  one  of  those  awful  tornadoes  of  wind  and  rain.  Now, 
mark,  the  wind  bore  the  flames  away  from  our  dwelling-house ; 
had  it  come  in  the  opposite  direction,  no  power  on  earth  could 
have  saved  us  from  being  consumed !  It  made  the  work  of 
destroying  the  church  only  that  of  a  few  minutes ;  but  it  brought 
with  it  a  heavy  and  murky  cloud,  which  poured  out  a  perfect 
torrent  of  tropical  rain.  Now,  mark  again,  the  flames  of  the 
burning  church  were  thereby  cut  off  from  extending  to  and 
seizing  upon  the  reeds  and  the  bush ;  and,  besides,  it  had  become 
almost  impossible  now  to  set  fire  to  our  dwelling-house. 

“The  mighty  roaring  of  the  wind,  the  black  cloud  pouring 
down  unceasing  torrents,  and  the  whole  surroundings,  awed  the 
savages  into  silence.  Some  began  to  withdraw  from  the  scene,  all 
lowered  their  weapons  of  war,  and  several,  terror-struck,  ex¬ 
claimed,  ‘That  is  Jehovah’s  rain!  Truly  their  Jehovah  God 
is  fighting  for  them  and  helping  them.  Let  us  away !  ’ 

“A  panic  seized  upon  them ;  they  threw  away  their  remaining 
torches,  and  in  a  few  moments  they  had  all  disappeared  in  the 
bush,  and  I  was  left  alone,  praising  God  for  His  marvellous 
works.  ‘  0  taste  and  see  that  God  is  good !  Blessed  is  the  man 
that  trusteth  in  Him!’ 

The  Site  for  the  New  Home  on  Aniwa.  (P.  134-135, 
UO.) 

“Sorrowful  experience  on  Tanna  had  taught  us  to  seek  the 
site  for  our  Aniwa  house  on  the  highest  ground,  and  away  from 
the  malarial  influences  near  the  shore.  There  was  one  charming 
mound,  covered  with  trees  whose  roots  ran  down  into  the  crevices 
of  coral,  and  from  which  Tanna  and  Erromanga  are  clearly  seen. 
But  there  the  natives,  for  some  superstitious  reason,  forbade  us 
to  build,  and  we  were  constrained  to  take  another  rising  ground 
somewhat  nearer  the  shore.  In  the  end,  this  turned  out  to  be 
the  very  best  site  on  the  island  for  us,  central  and  suitable 
every  way.  But  we  afterwards  learned  that  perhaps  supersti¬ 
tion  also  led  them  to  sell  us  this  site,  in  the  malicious  hope  that 
it  would  prove  our  ruin.  The  mounds  on  the  top,  which  had  to 

14 


be  cleared  away,  contained  the  bones  and  refuse  of  their  can¬ 
nibal  feasts  for  ages.  None  but  their  sacred  men  durst  touch 
them ;  and  the  natives  watched  us  hewing  and  digging,  certain 
that  their  gods  would  strike  us  dead !  That  failing,  their 
thoughts  may  probably  have  been  turned  to  reflect  that  after  all 
the  Jehovah  God  was  stronger  than  they. 

“In  levelling  the  site  and  gently  sloping  the  sides  of  the 
ground  for  good  drainage  purposes,  I  had  gathered  together 
two  large  baskets  of  human  bones.  I  said  to  a  chief  (in  Tan- 
nese),  ‘How  do  these  bones  come  to  be  here?’ 

“And  he  replied,  with  a  shrug  worthy  of  a  cynical  French¬ 
man,  ‘Ah,  we  are  not  Tanna-men!  We  don't  eat  the  bones!’ 

“The  site  being  now  cleared,  we  questioned  whether  to  build 
only  a  temporary  home,  hoping  to  return  to  dear  old  Tanna  as 
soon  as  possible,  or,  though  the  labour  would  be  vastly  greater, 
a  substantial  house.  We  decided  that  we  would  make  it  the  very 
best  we  could.  We  planned  two  central  rooms,  sixteen  feet  by 
sixteen,  wdth  a  five-foot  wide  lobby  between,  so  that  other  rooms 
could  be  added  wrhen  required.  About  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from 
the  sea,  and  thirty-five  feet  above  its  level,  I  laid  the  founda¬ 
tions  of  the  house.  Coral  blocks  raised  the  wall  about  three 
feet  high  all  round.  Air  passages  carried  sweeping  currents 
underneath  each  room,  and  greatly  lessened  the  risk  of  fever 
and  ague.  A  wide  trench  was  dug  all  round,  and  filled  up  as  a 
drain  with  broken  coral.  At  back  and  front,  the  veranda 
stretched  five  feet  wide ;  and  pantry,  bath-room  and  tool-house 
were  partitioned  off  under  the  veranda  behind.  The  windows 
sent  to  me  had  hinges ;  I  added  two  feet  to  each  with  w7ood  from 
Mission  boxes,  and  made  them  French  door-windows,  opening 
from  each  room  to  the  veranda.  And  so  we  had,  by  God’s  bless¬ 
ing,  a  healthy  spot  to  live  in,  if  not  exactly  a  thing  of 
beauty !  ”  .  .  .  A  native  described  the  situation  as  follows : 

“When  Missi  (John  G.  Paton)  came  we  saw  his  boxes.  We 
knew  he  had  blankets  and  calico,  axes  and  knives,  fish-hooks  and 
all  such  things.  We  said,  ‘Don’t  drive  him  off,  else  we  will 
lose  all  these  things.  We  will  let  him  land.  But  we  will  force 
him  to  live  on  the  Sacred  Plot.  Our  Gods  will  kill  him,  and  we 
will  divide  all  that  he  has  amongst  the  men  of  Aniwa.  ’  But 
Missi  built  his  house  on  our  most  sacred  spot.  He  and  his  people 
lived  there,  and  the  gods  did  not  strike.  He  planted  bananas 
there,  and  we  said,  ‘Now,  when  they  eat  of  these  they  will  all 
drop  dead,  as  our  fathers  assured  us,  if  any  one  ate  fruit  from 
that  ground,  except  only  our  Sacred  Men  themselves.’  These 
bananas  ripened.  They  did  eat  them.  We  kept  watching  for 

15 


days  and  days,  but  no  one  died!  Therefore  what  we  say,  and 
what  our  fathers  have  said,  is  not  true.  Our  gods  cannot  kill 
them.  Their  Jehovah  God  is  stronger  than  the  gods  of  Aniwa.” 

The  Sinking  of  the  First  Well  in  Aniwa .  ( P .  157-159, 

160 ,  161 ,  164.) 

“Aniwa,  having  therefore  no  permanent  supply  of  fresh 
water,  in  spring  or  stream  or  lake,  and  my  own  household  also 
suffering  sadly  for  lack  of  fresh  water,  I  resolved  by  the  help 
of  God  to  sink  a  well  near  the  Mission  premises,  hoping  that  a 
wisdom  higher  than  my  own  would  guide  me  to  the  source  of 
some  blessed  spring.  Of  the  scientific  conditions  of  such  an 
experiment  I  was  comparatively  ignorant ;  but  I  counted  on 
having  to  dig  through  earth  and  coral  above  thirty  feet,  and 
my  constant  fear  was  that,  owing  to  our  being  so  near  to  the 
sea-shore,  the  water,  if  water  I  found,  could  only  be  salt  water 
after  all  my  toil !  Still,  I  resolved  to  sink  that  shaft  in  hope, 
and  in  faith  that  the  Son  of  God  would  be  glorified  thereby. 

“One  morning  I  said  to  the  old  chief  and  his  fellow-chief,  ‘I 
am  going  to  sink  a  deep  well  down  into  the  earth,  to  see  if  our 
God  will  send  us  fresh  water  up  from  below.’ 

“They  looked  at  me  with  such  astonishment,  and  said  in  a 
tone  of  sympathy  approaching  to  pity:  ‘0  Missi!  Wait  till  the 
rain  comes  down,  and  we  will  save  all  we  possibly  can  for  you.  ’ 

“I  replied,  ‘We  may  all  die  for  lack  of  water.  If  no  fresh 
water  can  be  got,  we  may  be  forced  to  leave  you.’ 

“The  old  chief  looked  imploringly,  and  said,  ‘0  Missi!  you 
must  not  leave  us  for  that.  Rain  comes  only  from  above.  How 
could  you  expect  our  island  to  send  up  showers  of  rain  from 
below  V 

“I  told  him,  ‘Fresh  water  does  come  up  springing  from  the 
earth  in  my  land  at  home,  and  I  hope  to  see  it  here  also.’ 

“The  old  chief  grew  more  tender  in  his  tones,  and  cried,  ‘0 
Missi,  your  head  is  going  wrong;  you  are  losing  something,  or 
you  would  not  talk  wild  like  that!  Don’t  let  our  people  hear 
you  talking  about  going  down  into  the  earth  for  rain,  or  they 
will  never  listen  to  your  word  or  believe  you  again.’ 

“But  I  started  upon  my  hazardous  job,  selecting  a  spot  near 
the  Mission  Station  and  close  to  the  public  path,  that  my  pros¬ 
pective  well  might  be  useful  to  all.  I  began  to  dig,  with  my 
pick  and  spade  and  bucket  at  hand,  an  American  axe  for  a 
hammer  and  crowbar,  and  a  ladder  for  service  by  and  by.  The 
good  old  chief  now  told  off  his  men  in  relays  to  watch  me,  lest 

16 


I  should  attempt  to  take  my  own  life,  or  do  anything  outrageous, 
saying,  ‘Poor  Missi !  That’s  the  way  with  all  who  go  mad. 
There’s  no  driving  of  a  notion  out  of  their  heads.  We  must 
just  watch  him  now.  He  will  find  it  harder  to  work  with  pick 
and  spade  than  with  his  pen,  and  when  he’s  tired  we’ll  persuade 
him  to  give  it  up.’ 

“I  did  get  exhausted  sooner  than  I  expected,  toiling  under 
that  tropical  sun ;  but  we  never  own  before  the  natives  that  we  are 
beaten ;  so  I  went  into  the  house  and  filled  my  vest  pocket  with 
large,  beautiful  English-made  fish-hooks.  These  are  very  tempt¬ 
ing  to  the  young  natives,  as  compared  with  their  own — skilfully 
made  though  they  be  out  of  shell,  and  serving  their  purposes 
wonderfully.  Holding  up  a  large  hook,  I  cried,  ‘One  of  these 
to  every  man  who  fills  and  turns  over  three  buckets  out  of  this 
hole !  ’ 

“A  rush  was  made  to  get  the  first  turn,  and  back  again  for 
another  and  another.  I  kept  those  on  one  side  who  had  got  a 
turn,  till  all  the  rest  in  order  had  a  chance,  and  bucket  after 
bucket  was  filled  and  emptied  rapidly.  Still  the  shaft  seemed 
to  lower  very  slowly,  while  my  fish-hooks  were  disappearing  very 
quickly.  I  was  constantly  there,  and  took  the  heavy  share  of 
everything,  and  was  thankful  one  evening  to  find  that  we  had 
cleared  more  than  twelve  feet  deep — when  lo !  next  morning, 
one  side  had  rushed  in,  and  our  work  was  all  undone. 

“The  old  chief  and  his  best  men  now  came  around  me  more 
earnestly  than  ever.  He  remonstrated  with  me  very  gravely. 
He  assured  me  for  the  fiftieth  time  that  rain  would  never  be 
seen  coming  up  through  the  earth  on  Aniwa!  .  .  . 

‘  ‘  Steeping  my  poor  brains  over  the  problem,  I  became  an  ex¬ 
temporised  engineer.  Two  trees  were  searched  for,  with  branches 
on  opposite  sides,  capable  of  sustaining  a  cross  tree  betwixt 
them.  I  sank  them  on  each  side  firmly  into  the  ground,  passed 
the  beam  across  them  over  the  centre  of  the  shaft,  fastened 
thereon  a  rude  home-made  pulley  and  block,  passed  a  rope  over 
the  wheel,  and  swung  my  largest  bucket  to  the  end  of  it.  Thus 
equipped,  I  began  once  more  sinking  away  at  the  well,  but  at  so 
great  an  angle  that  the  sides  might  not  again  fall  in.  Not  a 
native,  however,  would  enter  that  hole,  and  I  had  to  pick  and 
dig  away  till  I  was  utterly  exhausted.  But  a  native  teacher,  in 
whom  I  had  confidence,  took  charge  above,  managing  to  hire 
them  with  axes,  knives,  etc.,  to  seize  the  end  of  the  rope  and 
walk  along  the  ground,  pulling  it  till  the  bucket  rose  to  the 
surface,  and  then  he  himself  swung  it  aside,  emptied  it,  and 
lowered  it  down  again.  I  rang  a  little  bell  which  I  had  with 


me,  when  the  bucket  was  loaded,  and  that  was  the  signal  for 
my  brave  helpers  to  pull  their  rope.  And  thus  I  toiled  on  from 
day  to  day,  my  heart  almost  sinking  sometimes  with  the  sinking 
of  the  well,  till  we  reached  a  depth  of  about  thirty  feet.  And 
the  phrase,  ‘living  water,’  ‘living  water,’  kept  chiming 
through  my  soul  like  music  from  God,  as  I  dug  and  hammered 
away ! 

“At  this  depth  the  earth  and  coral  began  to  be  soaked  with 
damp.  I  felt  that  we  were  nearing  water.  My  soul  had  a  faith 
that  God  would  open  a  spring  for  us ;  but  side  by  side  with  this 
faith  was  a  strange  terror  that  the  water  would  be  salt.  So 
perplexing  and  mixed  are  even  the  highest  experiences  of  the 
soul;  the  rose-flower  of  a  perfect  faith,  set  round  and  round 
with  prickly  thorns.  One  evening  I  said  to  the  old  chief,  ‘I 
think  that  Jehovah  God  will  give  us  water  to-morrow  from  that 
hole!’  .  .  . 

“Next  morning,  I  went  down  again  at  daybreak,  and  sank  a 
narrow  hole  in  the  centre  about  two  feet  deep.  The  perspiration 
broke  over  me  with  uncontrollable  excitement,  and  I  trembled 
through  very  limb,  when  the  water  rushed  up  and  began  to  fill 
the  hole.  Muddy  though  it  was,  I  eagerly  tasted  it,  lapping  it 
with  my  trembling  hand,  and  then  I  almost  fell  upon  my  knees 
in  the  muddy  bottom  as  my  heart  burst  up  in  praise  to  the  Lord. 
It  was  water !  It  was  fresh  water !  It  was  living  water  from 
Jehovah’s  well!  True,  it  was  a  little  brackish,  but  nothing  to 
speak  of ;  and  no  spring  in  the  desert,  cooling  the  parched  lips  of 
a  fevered  pilgrim,  ever  appeared  more  worthy  of  being  called  a 
Well  of  God  than  did  that  water  to  me! 

“The  chiefs  had  assembled  with  their  men  near  by.  They 
waited  on  in  eager  expectancy.  It  was  a  rehearsal,  in  a  small 
way,  of  the  Israelites  coming  round,  while  Moses  struck  the 
rock  and  called  for  water.  By  and  by,  when  I  had  praised  the 
Lord,  and  my  excitement  was  a  little  calmed,  the  mud  being 
also  greatly  settled,  I  filled  a  jug,  which  I  had  taken  down  empty 
in  the  sight  of  them  all,  and  ascending  to  the  top  called  for  them 
to  come  and  see  the  rain  which  Jehovah  God  had  given  us 
through  the  well.  They  closed  around  me  in  haste,  and  gazed 
on  it  in  superstitious  fear.  The  old  chief  shook  it  to  see  if  it 
would  spill,  and  then  touched  it  to  see  if  it  felt  like  water.  At 
last  he  tasted  it,  and  rolling  it  in  his  mouth  with  joy  for  a 
moment,  he  swallowed  it,  and  shouted,  ‘Rain!  Rain!  Yes,  it 
is  Rain  !  But  how  did  you  get  it  ?  ’ 

“I  repeated,  ‘Jehovah,  my  God,  gave  it  out  of  His  own  earth 


18 


in  answer  to  our  labours  and  prayers.  Go  and  see  it  springing 
up  for  yourselves ! 7  .  .  . 

“Very  strangely,  though  the  natives  themselves  have  since 
tried  to  sink  six  or  seven  wells  in  the  most  likely  places  near 
their  different  villages,  they  have  either  come  to  coral  rock 
which  they  could  not  pierce,  or  found  only  water  that  was  salt. 
And  they  say  amongst  themselves,  ‘  Missi  not  only  used  pick 
and  spade,  but  he  prayed  and  cried  to  his  God.  We  have  learned 
to  dig,  but  not  how  to  pray,  and  therefore  Jehovah  will  not 
give  us  the  rain  from  below  !  7  7  7  .  .  . 

Chief  Namakei  Proclaims  His  Faith  in  Jehovah  God. 
( P .  104-165.) 

“When  the  well  was  finished  and  neatly  fenced  in,  the  old 
chief  said,  ‘Missi,  I  think  I  could  help  you  next  Sabbath. 
Will  you  let  me  preach  a  sermon  on  the  well?7 

“  ‘Yes, 7  I  at  once  replied,  ‘if  you  will  try  to  bring  all  the 
people  to  hear  you. 7 

“  ‘Missi,  I  will  try, 7  he  eagerly  promised.  The  news  spread 
like  wildfire  that  the  Chief  Namakei  was  to  be  Missionary  on  the 
next  day  for  the  worship,  and  the  people,  under  great  ex¬ 
pectancy,  urged  each  other  to  come  and  hear  what  he  had  to  say. 

“Sabbath  came  round.  Aniwa  assembled  in  what  was,  for  the 
island,  a  great  crowd.  Namakei  appeared  dressed  in  shirt  and 
kilt.  He  was  so  excited,  and  flourished  his  tomahawk  about  at 
such  a  rate,  that  it  was  rather  lively  work  to  be  near  him.  I  con¬ 
ducted  short  opening  devotions,  and  then  called  upon  Namakei. 
He  rose  at  once,  with  eye  flashing  wildly,  and  his  limbs  twitch¬ 
ing  with  emotion.  He  spoke  to  the  following  effect,  swinging 
his  tomahawk  to  enforce  every  eloquent  gesticulation : 

“  ‘Friends  of  Namakei,  men  and  women  and  children  of 
Aniwa,  listen  to  my  words !  Since  Missi  came  here  he  has  talked 
many  strange  things  we  could  not  understand — things  all  too 
wonderful ;  and  we  said  regarding  many  of  them  that  they  must 
be  lies.  White  people  might  believe  such  nonsense,  but  we  said 
that  the  black  fellow  knew  better  than  to  receive  it.  But  of  all 
his  wonderful  stories,  we  thought  the  strangest  was  about  sink¬ 
ing  down  through  the  earth  to  get  rain !  Then  we  said  to  each 
other,  The  man’s  head  is  turned;  he’s  gone  mad.  But  the  Missi 
prayed  on  and  wrought  on,  telling  us  that  Jehovah  God  heard 
and  saw,  and  that  his  God  would  give  him  rain.  Was  he  mad? 
Has  he  not  got  the  rain  deep  down  there  all  the  same?  We 
have  laughed  at  other  things  which  the  Missi  told  us,  because 

19 


we  could  not  see  them.  But  from  this  day  I  believe  that  all  he 
tells  us  about  his  Jehovah  God  is  true.  Some  day  our  eyes  will 
see  it.  For  to-day  we  have  seen  the  rain  from  the  earth.’ 

“Then,  rising  to  a  climax  first  the  one  foot  and  then  the  other 
making  the  broken  coral  on  the  floor  fly  behind  like  a  warhorse 
pawing  the  ground,  he  cried  with  great  eloquence : 

“  ‘My  people,  the  people  of  Aniwa,  the  world  is  turned  up¬ 
side  down  since  the  work  of  Jehovah  came  to  this  land!  Who 
ever  expected  to  see  rain  coming  up  through  the  earth?  It  has 
always  come  down  from  the  clouds!  Wonderful  is  the  work  of 
this  Jehovah  God.  No  god  of  Aniwa  ever  answered  prayers  as 
the  Missi’s  God  has  done.  Friends  of  Namakei,  all  the  powers 
of  the  world  could  not  have  forced  us  to  believe  that  rain  could 
be  given  from  the  depths  of  the  earth,  if  we  had  not  seen  it 
with  our  eyes,  felt  it  and  tasted  it  as  we  here  do.  Now,  by  the 
help  of  Jehovah  God,  the  Missi  brought  that  invisible  rain  to 
view,  which  we  never  before  heard  of  or  saw,  and’ — beating  his 
hand  on  his  breast,  he  exclaimed: 

“  ‘Something  here  in  my  heart  tells  me  that  the  Jehovah  God 
does  exist,  the  Invisible  One,  whom  we  never  heard  of  nor  saw 
till  the  Missi  brought  Him  to  our  knowledge.  The  coral  has 
been  removed,  the  land  has  been  cleared  away,  and  lo !  the  water 
rises.  Invisible  till  this  day,  yet  all  the  same  it  was  there, 
though  our  eyes  were  too  weak.  So  I,  your  chief,  now  firmly 
believe  that  when  I  die,  when  the  bits  of  coral  and  the  heaps  of 
dust  are  removed  which  now  blind  my  old  eyes,  I  shall  then  see 
the  invisible  Jehovah  God  with  my  soul,  as  Missi  tells  me,  not 
less  surely  than  I  have  seen  the  rain  from  the  earth  below.  From 
this  day,  my  people,  I  must  worship  the  God  who  has  opened  for 
us  the  well,  and  who  fills  us  with  rain  from  below.  The  gods 
of  Aniwa  cannot  hear,  cannot  help  us,  like  the  God  of  Missi. 
Henceforth  I  am  a  follower  of  Jehovah  God.  Let  every  man 
that  thinks  with  me  go  now  and  fetch  the  idols  of  Aniwa,  the 
gods  which  our  fathers  feared,  and  cast  them  down  at  Missi’s 
feet.  Let  us  burn  and  bury  and  destroy  these  things  of  wood 
and  stone,  and  let  us  be  taught  by  the  Missi  how  to  serve  the 
God  who  can  hear,  the  Jehovah,  who  gave  us  the  well,  and  who 
will  give  us  every  other  blessing,  for  He  sent  His  Son  Jesus  to 
die  for  us  and  bring  us  to  Heaven.  This  is  what  the  Missi  has 
been  telling  us  every  day  since  he  landed  on  Aniwa.  We  laughed 
at  him,  but  now  we  believe  him.  The  Jehovah  God  has  sent  us 
rain  from  the  earth.  Why  should  He  not  also  send  us  His  Son 
from  Heaven?  Namakei  stands  up  for  Jehovah!’  ”... 


20 


A  niwa  Adopts  Christian  Practices .  (P.  166-168 .) 

“One  of  the  very  first  steps  in  Christian  discipline  to  which 
they  readily  and  almost  unanimously  took  was  the  asking  of 
God’s  blessing  on  every  meal  and  praising  the  great  Jehovah 
for  their  daily  bread.  Whosoever  did  not  do  so  was  regarded 
as  a  heathen.  The  next  step,  and  it  was  taken  in  a  manner  as 
if  by  some  common  consent  that  was  not  less  surprising  than 
joyful,  was  a  form  of  family  worship  every  morning  and  evening. 
Doubtless  the  prayers  were  often  very  queer,  and  mixed  with 
many  remaining  superstitions;  but  they  were  prayers  to  the 
great  Jehovah,  the  compassionate  Father,  the  Invisible  One — 
no  longer  to  gods  of  stone ! 

“Necessarily  these  were  the  conspicuous  features  of  our  life 
as  Christians  in  their  midst — morning  and  evening  Family 
Prayer  and  Grace  at  Meat ;  and  hence,  most  naturally,  their  in¬ 
stinctive  adoption  and  imitation  of  the  same  as  the  first  out¬ 
ward  tokens  of  Christian  discipline.  Every  house  in  which  there 
was  not  Prayer  to  God  in  the  family  was  known  thereby  to  be 
heathen.  This  was  a  direct  and  practical  evidence  of  the  New 
Religion;  and,  so  far  as  it  goes  (and  that  is  very  far,  indeed, 
where  there  is  any  sincerity  beneath  it),  the  test  was  one  about 
which  there  could  be  no  mistake  on  either  side. 

“A  third  conspicuous  feature  stood  out  distinctly  and  at  once 
— the  change  as  to  the  Lord’s  Day.  Village  after  village  followed 
in  this  also  the  example  of  the  Mission  House.  All  ordinary  oc¬ 
cupations  ceased.  Sabbath  was  spoken  of  as  the  Day  for  Jehovah. 
Saturday  came  to  be  called  ‘Cooking  Day,’  referring  to  the 
extra  preparations  for  the  coming  day  of  rest  and  worship. 
They  believed  that  it  was  Jehovah’s  will  to  keep  the  first  day 
holy.  The  reverse  was  a  distinctive  mark  of  heathenism. 

“The  first  traces  of  a  new  social  order  began  to  rise  visibly  on 
the  delighted  eye.  The  whole  inhabitants,  young  and  old,  now 
attended  school — three  generations  sometimes  at  the  one  copy 
or  A  B  C  book !  Thefts,  quarrels,  crimes,  etc.,  were  settled  now, 
not  by  club  law,  but  by  fine  or  bonds  or  lash,  as  agreed  upon 
by  the  chiefs  and  their  people.  Everything  was  rapidly  and 
surely  becoming  ‘new’  under  the  influence  of  the  leaven  of 
Jesus.  Industry  increased.  Huts  and  plantations  were  safe. 
Formerly  every  man,  in  traveling,  carried  with  him  all  his 
valuables ;  now  they  were  secure,  left  at  home. 

“In  heathen  days,  by  way  of  contrast,  a  brood  of  fowls  or  a 
litter  of  pigs  would  be  carried  in  bags  lest  they  should  be  stolen. 
Hence  at  churcli  we  had  sometimes  lively  episodes,  the  chirrup¬ 
ing  of  chicks,  the  squealing  of  piggies,  and  the  barking  of 

21 


puppies,  one  gaily  responding  to  the  other,  as  we  sang,  or 
prayed,  or  preached  the  Gospel !  Being  glad,  in  those  days,  to 
see  the  natives  there,  even  with  all  their  belongings,  we  carefully 
refrained  from  finding  fault;  but  the  thread  of  devotion  was 
sometimes  apt  to  slip  through  one’s  fingers,  especially  when  the 
conflict  of  the  owner  to  silence  a  baby  pig  inspired  the  little 
wretch  to  drown  everything  in  a  long-sustained  and  high-pitched 
scream. 

‘  ‘  The  natives  found  this  state  of  things  troublesome  to  them¬ 
selves  and  disagreeable  all  round.  They  called  a  General  As¬ 
sembly,  at  which  dishonesty  was  unanimously  condemned  and 
fines,  etc.,  were  instituted.  The  chiefs,  no  doubt,  found  this  a  long 
and  difficult  task,  but  they  held  at  it  under  the  inspiration  of 
the  Gospel,  and  prevailed.  Even  the  trials  and  difficulties  with 
which  they  met  were  overruled  by  God,  in  assisting  them  to  form 
by  the  light  of  their  own  experience  a  simple  code  of  social 
laws,  fitted  to  repress  the  crimes  there  prevailing,  and  to  en¬ 
courage  the  virtues  specially  needing  to  be  cultivated.  Heathen 
worship  was  gradually  extinguished ;  and,  though  no  one  was 
compelled  to  come  to  church,  every  person  on  Aniwa,  without 
exception,  became  ere  many  years  an  avowed  worshipper  of 
J e'hovah  God.  Again  : 

“  ‘0  Galilean,  Thou  hast  conquered !  ’  ” 

The  First  Baptism  and  Communion  Services.  (P.  179- 
180.) 

“And  this  leads  me  to  relate  the  story  of  our  first  com¬ 
munion  on  Aniwa.  It  was  Sabbath,  24th  October,  1869 ;  and 
surely  the  angels  of  God  and  the  Church  of  the  Redeemed  in 
Glory  were  amongst  the  ‘great  cloud  of  witnesses’  who  eagerly 
‘peered’  down  upon  the  scene — when  we  sat  around  the  Lord’s 
Table  and  partook  the  memorials  of  His  body  and  blood  with 
those  few  souls  rescued  out  of  the  heathen  world.  My  com¬ 
municants’  class  had  occupied  me  now  a  considerable  time.  The 
conditions  of  attendance  at  this  early  stage  were  explicit,  and 
had  to  be  made  very  severe,  and  only  twenty  were  admitted  to 
the  roll.  At  the  final  examination  only  twelve  gave  evidence 
of  understanding  what  they  were  doing,  and  of  having  given 
their  hearts  to  the  service  of  the  Lord  Jesns.  At  their  own  de¬ 
sire,  and  after  every  care  in  examining  and  instructing,  they 
were  solemnly  dedicated  in  prayer  to  be  baptized  and  admitted 
to  the  Holy  Table.  On  that  Lord’s  Day,  after  the  usual  opening 
service,  I  gave  a  short  and  careful  exposition  of  the  Ten  Com¬ 
mandments  and  of  the  Way  of  Salvation  according  to  the  Gos- 


22 


pel.  The  twelve  candidates  then  stood  up  before  all  the  in¬ 
habitants  there  assembled,  and,  after  a  brief  exhortation  to  them 
as  converts,  I  put  to  them  the  two  questions  that  follow,  and 
each  gave  an  affirmative  reply,  ‘Do  you  in  accordance  with 
your  profession  of  the  Christian  Faith,  and  your  promises  be¬ 
fore  God  and  the  people,  wish  me  now  to  baptize  you?’ 

“And — ‘Will  you  live  henceforth  for  Jesus  only,  hating  all 
sin  and  trying  to  love  and  serve  your  Saviour  ?  ’ 

‘  ‘  Then  beginning  with  the  old  chief,  the  twelve  came  forward, 
and  I  baptized  them  one  by  one.  Solemn  prayer  was  then 
offered,  and  in  the  name  of  the  Holy  Trinity  the  Church  of 
Christ  on  Aniwa  was  formally  constituted.  I  addressed  them 
on  the  words  of  the  Holy  Institution — I.  Corinthians  11:23 — 
and  then,  after  the  prayer  of  Thanksgiving  and  Consecration, 
administered  the  Lord’s  Supper — the  first  time  since  the  Island 
of  Aniwa  was  heaved  out  of  its  coral  depths !  Mrs.  McNair,  my 
wife  and  myself,  along  with  the  six  Aneityumese  teachers,  com¬ 
municated  with  the  newly  baptized  twelve.  And  I  think,  if 
ever  in  all  my  earthly  experience,  on  that  day  I  might  truly 
add  the  blessed  words — ‘Jesus  in  the  midst.’ 

‘  ‘  The  whole  service  occupied  nearly  three  hours.  The  Island¬ 
ers  looked  on  with  a  wonder  whose  unwonted  silence  was  almost 
painful  to  bear.  Many  were  led  to  inquire  carefully  about 
everything  they  saw,  so  new  and  strange.  For  three  years  we 
had  toiled  and  prayed  and  taught  for  this.  At  the  moment 
when  I  put  the  bread  and  wine  into  those  dark  hands,  once 
stained  with  the  blood  of  cannibalism,  but  now  stretched  out  to 
receive  and  partake  the  emblems  and  seals  of  the  Redeemer’s 
love,  I  had  a  foretaste  of  the  joy  of  glory  that  well-nigh  broke 
my  heart  to  pieces.  I  shall  never  taste  a  deeper  bliss  till  I  gaze 
on  the  glorified  face  of  Jesus  Himself.” 

The  Desire  of  the  Converts  to  Tell  Others  the  “ Glacl 
Tidings ”  ( P .  190-191 .) 

“A  heathen  has  been  all  his  days  groping  after  peace  of 
soul  in  dark  superstition  and  degrading  rites.  You  pour  into 
his  soul  the  light  of  Revelation.  He  learns  that  God  is  love,  that 
God  sent  His  Son  to  die  for  him,  and  that  he  is  the  heir  of  Life 
Eternal  in  and  through  Jesus  Christ.  By  the  blessed  enlight¬ 
enment  of  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  he  believes  all  this.  He  passes 
into  a  third  heaven  of  joy,  and  he  burns  to  tell  everyone  of  the 
Glad  Tidings.  Others  see  the  change  in  his  disposition,  in  his 
character,  in  his  whole  life  and  actions;  and  amid  such  sur- 


23 


roundings,  every  convert  is  a  burning  and  shining  light.  Even 
whole  populations  are  thus  brought  into  the  outer  court  of  the 
Temple ;  and  islands,  still  heathen  and  cannibal,  are  positively 
eager  for  the  missionary  to  live  amongst  them  and  would 
guard  his  life  and  property  now  in  complete  security,  where 
a  very  few  years  ago  everything  would  have  been  instantly 
sacrificed  on  touching  their  shores !  They  are  not  Christianized, 
neither  are  they  civilized,  but  the  light  has  been  kindled  all 
around  them,  and  though  still  only  shining  afar,  they  cannot  but 
rejoice  in  its  beams.  But  even  when  the  path  is  not  so  smooth, 
nor  any  welcome  awaiting  them,  native  converts  show  amazing 
zeal.  For  instance,  one  of  our  chiefs,  full  of  the  Christ-kindled 
desire  to  see  and  to  save,  sent  a  message  to  an  island  chief,  that 
he  and  four  attendants  would  come  on  Sabbath  and  tell  them 
the  Gospel  of  Jehovah  God.  The  reply  came  back  sternly  for¬ 
bidding  their  visit,  and  threatening  with  death  any  Christian 
that  approached  their  village.  Our  chief  sent  in  response  a 
loving  message,  telling  them  that  Jehovah  had  taught  the  Chris¬ 
tians  to  return  good  for  evil,  and  that  they  would  come  unarmed 
to  tell  them  the  storv  of  how  the  Son  of  God  came  into  the  world 
and  died  in  order  to  bless  and  save  His  enemies.  The  heathen 
chief  sent  back  a  stern  and  prompt  reply  once  more,  ‘If  you 
come,  you  will  be  killed.’ 

“On  Sabbath  morning,  the  Christian  chief  and  his  four  com¬ 
panions  were  met  outside  the  village  by  the  heathen  chief,  who 
implored  and  threatened  them  once  more.  But  the  former  said, 
‘We  come  to  you  without  weapons  of  war!  We  come  only  to 
tell  you  about  Jesus.  We  believe  that  He  will  protect  us  to-day.’ 

“As  they  steadily  pressed  forward  towards  the  village,  spears 
began  to  be  thrown  at  them.  Some  they  evaded,  being  all,  except 
one,  most  dexterous  warriors;  and  others  they  literally  received 
with  their  bare  hands,  striking  them  and  turning  them  aside  in 
an  incredible  manner.  The  heathen,  apparently  thunderstruck 
at  these  men  thus  approaching  them  without  weapons  .of  war, 
and  not  even  flinging  back  their  own  spears  which  they  had 
turned  aside,  desisted  from  mere  surprise,  after  having  thrown 
what  the  old  chief  called  ‘a  shower  of  spears.’  Our  Christian 
chief  called  out,  as  he  and  his  companions  drew  up  in  the  midst 
of  them  on  the  village  public  ground : 

“  ‘Jehovah  thus  protects  us.  He  has  given  us  all  your  spears ! 
Once  we  would  have  thrown  them  back  at  you  and  killed  you. 
But  now  we  come  not  to  fight,  but  to  tell  you  about  Jesus.  He 
has  changed  our  dark  hearts.  He  asks  you  now  to  lay  down  all 


24 


these  your  other  weapons  of  war,  and  to  hear  what  we  can 
tell  you  about  the  love  of  God,  our  great  Father,  the  only  living 
God.’  ” 

The  Progress  Reviewed  in  His  Last  Letter  f  rom  Aniwa. 
(P.  2^2-243.) 

His  last  letter  dated  from  Aniwa  is  June,  1904.  He  had 
just  concluded  a  visit  to  some  of  the  other  Mission  Stations, 
notably  West  Tanna.  The  hospital  there  and  other  evidences 
of  the  steady  inroad  that  was  being  made  on  the  inveterate 
heathenism  of  Tanna  greatly  encouraged  him. 

“It  was,”  he  said,  “a  feast  of  real  joy  to  see  that  my  long- 
cherished  prayer  may  yet  be  fulfilled — ‘the  New  Hebrides  with 
its  every  island,  tribe,  and  native  for  Jesus  and  His  Glory.’ 
We  now  occupy  twenty  of  its  thirty  islands,  and  have  17,000 
natives  avowedly  serving  Jesus  as  their  God  and  Saviour;  of 
these  330  are  consecrated  to  the  work  as  teachers  and  evangelists. 

‘  ‘  I  was  at  Nguna  on  a  Sabbath  morning,  and  had  the  privilege 
of  addressing  an  audience  of  600  Christian  natives  in  a  church 
built  by  the  Rev.  Peter  Milne,  their  veteran  Missionary.  What 
a  marvellous  work  God  has  enabled  him  to  do  on  and  around 
Nguna !” 

“Sunset,  and  Evening  Star  and  One  Clear  Call  for  Me” 
(P.  252-253.) 

It  was  a  holy  privilege  to  be  present  when  some  aged  min¬ 
ister,  bowed  under  an  almost  equal  weight  of  years,  came  to 
talk  and  pray  with  him.  If  anyone  spoke  of  past  achievements 
as  a  theme  of  comfort  it  only  pained  him,  but  when  some  old 
white-haired  saint  spoke  to  him  of  the  Sinner’s  Refuge,  the 
look  of  pain  melted  into  an  indescribable  glow  of  tenderness  and 
love  as  he  murmured,  “Precious  Jesus.”  It  was  in  the  Crucified 
Saviour  that  his  heart  rested  in  such  unutterable  peace. 

Many  ministers  and  friends  came  from  far  and  near  to  see 
him,  and  their  visits  cheered  him.  He  was  always  vexed  when 
anyone  was  allowed  to  go  away  without  a  brief  look  into  the 
sick-room.  When  he  was  reminded  that  his  pain  and  weakness 
were  too  great  to  allow  him  to  see  visitors,  he  would  say : 

“Oh,  but  it  was  so  kind  of  them  to  come,  and  I  would  just 
like  to  shake  hands.  It  will  not  do  me  any  harm.” 

On  the  morning  of  the  25th  of  January,  the  Missionary 
thought  he  was  dying.  He  asked  his  son  Frank  to  come  nearer, 

25 


and  then  poured  out  his  heart  in  fervent  prayer  for  all  his 
children  and  their  children,  pleading  that  all  might  be  gathered 
home  to  the  Glory,  “not  one  awanting.”  It  was  a  patriarchal 
benediction,  more  precious  than  the  wealth  of  the  whole  world. 

On  Sunday  evening  the  patient  became  unconscious,  and  it 
was  soon  apparent  that  the  end  was  drawing  near.  The  watchers 
beside  the  bed  bore  him  up  in  silent  prayer.  The  final  struggle 
was  distressing,  and  it  was  hard  to  see  one  suffer  for  whom  they 
would  gladly  have  borne  any  pain. 

Just  after  one  o’clock  on  Monday,  the  28th  of  January, 
1907,  John  G.  Paton  passed  away. 

In  a  moment,  as  if  by  the  Invisible  Hand  of  the  Great  Father 
Himself,  the  lines  of  pain  were  smoothed  out  and  a  look  of 
heavenly  peace  suffused  the  pale  features.  He  had  seen  his 
“Precious  Jesus,”  and  the  afterglow  of  that  glorious  vision  was 
reflected  in  his  face.  The  watchers  felt  that  they  were  on  holy 
ground,  and  a  great  tenderness  and  awe  filled  their  souls,  as 
they  stood  at  the  brink  and  beheld. 


26 


SERIES  OF  TWELVE  PROGRAMS 


Course  Number  One 
(Now  available) 

JAMES  CHALMERS,  Martyr  of  New  Guinea 

JAMES  GILMOUR,  Pioneer  in  Mongolia 

WILFRED  T.  GRENFELL,  Knight-Errant  of  the  North 

ADONIRAM  JUDSON,  Herald  of  the  Cross  in  Burma 

ION  KEITH-FALCONER,  Defender  of  the  Faith  in  Arabia 

DAVID  LIVINGSTONE,  Africa’s  Pathfinder  and  Emancipator 

ALEXANDER  M.  MACKAY,  Uganda’s  White  Man  of  Work 

HENRY  MARTYN,  Persia’s  Man  of  God 

ROBERT  MORRISON,  Protestant  Pioneer  in  China 

JOHN  G.  PATON,  King  of  the  Cannibals 

MARY  SLESSOR,  The  White  Queen  of  Calabar 

MARCUS  WHITMAN,  Hero  of  the  Oregon  Country 

Course  Number  Two 
(In  preparation) 

CAPTAIN  LUKE  BICKEL,  Master  Mariner  of  the  Inland  Sea 

WILLIAM  CAREY,  Founder  of  Modern  Missions 

ALEXANDER  DUFF,  India’s  Educational  Pioneer 

MARY  PORTER  GAMEWELL,  Heroine  of  the  Boxer  Rebellion 

FRANK  HIGGINS,  Sky  Pilot  of  the  Lumbermen 

ROBERT  LAWS,  Founder  of  Livingstonia 

RAYMOND  LULL,  First  Missionary  to  the  Moslems 

JOHN  K.  MACKENZIE,  The  Beloved  Physician  of  Tientsin 

JAMES  COLERIDGE  PATTESON,  Martyr  Bishop  of  the  South 
Seas 

ALBERT  L.  SHELTON,  Pioneer  in  Tibet 

J.  HUDSON  TAYLOR,  Organizer  of  the  China  Inland  Mission 

JOHN  WILLIAMS,  Shipbuilder  in  the  South  Seas 


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